PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 5,629 Shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 297,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,629 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Danaher were worth $68,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Danaher by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in Danaher by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Danaher by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Danaher by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in Danaher by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Danaher Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $212.35 on Friday. Danaher Co. has a 1-year low of $196.80 and a 1-year high of $281.70. The stock has a market cap of $151.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.14. Danaher had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 16.33%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Danaher’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Danaher’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian W. Ellis sold 5,700 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.13, for a total value of $1,277,541.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,534,149.90. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price target on shares of Danaher in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on Danaher from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Danaher from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Danaher from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Danaher presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.00.

Danaher Company Profile

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.